Monday 21 March 2011

Pyrmont, Life From A Suitcase

'Life From A Suitcase' is a sculpture that is located in the inner city suburb of Pyrmont. This life size, cast bronze sculpture was created by Terrance Plowright and unveiled in 2010. It was originally commissioned by Paul Signorelli to represent three generations of his family. It was gifted to Australia as a celebration of immigration. It is located at Pyrmont Wharves 12 and 13 which was Sydney's reserve passenger terminal until 1994 and where many immigrants in the 1950s and 1960s first stood on Australian soil. Immigrant Biaggio Signorelli, from Sicily in Italy, landed here in 1954 as did his wife to be, Filipa in 1963. They raised a large dynamic family that went on to grow Doltone House, a collection of event venues around Sydney including one here in the redeveloped wharf building behind the sculpture. Today is Harmony Day,  which celebrates the cohesive and inclusive nature of Australia and promotes the benefits of cultural diversity. It is celebrated annually on the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

15 comments:

  1. Gone are the days of large families ... beautiful sculpture and story behind it ...

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  2. Thank goodness for Paul Signorelli and Terrance Plowright.

    When my husband got off the ship in Sydney in 1952 (from Czechoslovakia), he and his family couldn't afford a suitcase. So they put their few possessions in pillow slips, sewed up the openings and each child carried his/her own down the gang plank.

    The three children went to school in Australia, learned English, married and established fine professional careers. The anti-migrant section of our population would have denied Australia these wonderful citizens.

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  3. Hels, quite true. Some people forget that Australia is such a young country so that means it is largely a nation of immigrants.

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  4. Immigrants are such a vital part of our history. It is wonderful to see them honored in this way.

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  5. That is a wonderful post. I come from a family of 10 kids and it was fun growing up.

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  6. It is surly an important day for all of us to observe.

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  7. Fabulous sculpture, great shot of it :)

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  8. I've read about this but never seen it.

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  9. How wonderful ! Trying to put as much as possible into one suitcase seven years ago before moving to Athens, made this a much felt sculpture. Thank you for sharing. Please have a good Tuesday.

    daily athens

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  10. Lovely statue that is.
    I love stoic and successful immigrant stories like in your post and in the comments.

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  11. Wonderful celebration on a perfect day for it. That's a beautiful sculpture.

    I'm afraid that many people here in the US have forgotten that we also are a nation of immigrants.

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  12. Hi Jim,

    Thank you very much for the detailed description of the sculpture. I recently walked around this area for the first time and found the statue to be full of life. Your Descriptions made it more so.

    When looking at the 2 Inscriptions on the Statue I was left a bit confused : The inscriptions refer to "Life from a Suitcase" and "A Celebration of Immigration". Which is actually the title of the Sculpture ?

    I would appreciate an explanation, if you are aware of one.

    Doris


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    1. Doris, I believe the title of the sculpture is "Life from a Suitcase" and it was gifted to Australia as a celebration of immigration.

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  13. Thank you for your advice, Jim. You have a great site. I also had a look at Fairfield and learnt a bit more about where I live. Keep Safe. Doris

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Thanks for visiting my blog. Please leave me a message. Jim.

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